April 1, 2009

As you know, the past several days were pretty difficult for Benjamin and he was uncomfortable and his ventilator settings were getting worse each day. Yesterday, Mom was able to spend the day with me and Benjamin up at the hospital and was able to lay hands on him and prayed a very specific prayer that he would receive health into his lungs. Before that, the doctors knew something was wrong but they didn't know what and ran a series of tests. They found some bacteria in a fluid sample from his lungs and even though there was not much, they decided to put him on antibiotics, especially since I have developed an infection. They think he may have been on his way to having pneumonia, especially since within hours of being on the antibiotics he began to improve and today his oxygen/ventilator settings are much better and he just looks overall better. The doctor even said if he continues at this rate he may be able to get off the ventilator in a few days! Thank you God!

Another good piece of news is that the bleeding in his brain has not increased. I could never explain it as good as his doctor did, but basically though there is no increase in bleeding, there is clotting, which sounds more scary that it is. If any of the clots becomes lodged in the part that drains fluid from the brain then it can cause some swelling, which is also not as scary as it sounds according to his doctor, because his skull is not fused and therefore can handle some expansion. They are monitoring this more closely now and will do another head ultrasound tomorrow. If the open cavity that collects fluids does become full and could cause some swelling, then they will have a neurosurgeon draw out some fluid with a needle. Even though they assured me that this too is not as scary as it sounds, I would prefer that no needles come close to my little boy's head. Please pray specifically for this as well as his continued improvement on the ventilator.

A few quick facts: Benjamin is now on 2.5mL/hr of milk (a teaspoon every two hours) and now weighs over 2lbs and 3 oz. We get excited about every ounce!

In celebration of a good day I thought I would add some pictures.

1) Brian's first time holding his son. You get might get a better sense of Benjamin's size. This holding time is referred to as kangaroo care and we are told it is very important for preemies. We don't mind helping him out in this way! We get to do this once per day as long as Benjamin is doing well.

2) Sweet little toes and mama's hand.

3) Ambulence - here is the vehicle that transported Benjamin from the hospital where he was born to where he now resides. If you ever see this vehicle driving around, be sure to let them by! They helped save my baby's life!

4) Benjamin's "bling" - are those bracelets? Well they also double as mom & dad's wedding rings. Another picture to help imagine the actual of the size of our boy.

5) If you have been through our hometown heading south on 99E in the past few days, you may have seen this sign. Who knew our boy would have his name on a sign when he was only two weeks old! It makes me either cry or smile each time I see it depending on which side of the roller coaster I happen to be on that day. (Thanks Doug and Marilyn!)

Thank you for your continued prayers.